I've took my son fly fishing today at a BOW we really like for Large 9 - 10 BG and LMB between 10" and 14". Its really a blast to see his fly fishing skills improve. We caught 4 large BG and couple of LMB on this trip but there are some developments that are greatly concerning me. Last year at the same time, the BG were exceptionally robust, really fat beauties. The one thing that has been different from last year is the pond manager's use of dye. They began to use it in late July after the FA float and the water has been kept at that level of dye since then. There was an immediate slow down in fish catch as a result of the dye which in the beginning I attributed to the greatly reduced clarity and light penetration of the water. Since then the large BG have declined greatly in condition. We caught some really big BG tonight, but they are shadow of what they earlier were. Their dorsal regions terminate like a knife blade when they were once fat and round. I am really concerned these large BG are going to die over winter and I just feel ill. It's difficult to find good water for BG in our area and this BOW was a hidden secret which I now think the Pond Manager has ruined for at least the time being. Just don't know how long it will take to recover or whether this will be the new status quo.

I'm not a dye expert but, I think, along with shading out plant reproduction it also reduces sunlight penetration needed for embryos to develop. That would effect and reduce the amount of small fish to feed the bigger fish.

That make some good sense Dave!

I wonder if whatever is causing the fish's decline, assuming it's dye related, can be overcome by the fish adapting to the change.

If it's the lack of embryo development...the fish need to nest in shallower water.

If it's lack of visibility... the fish need to feed more aggressively.

If it's a loss of small organisms in the base of the food chain...I don't know what...maybe a fish kill would lighten the load...IDK.

I also wonder if it resembles the trouble a fish has fully recovering from being relocated to different pond, but rather than the fish being relocated, the pond and been drastically changed.

Decrease in plankton production would be my guess. Which seems to be covered above.

Exactly. To everyone that responded. The larger fish are still there but the bottom of the food chain seem to have been decimated. Dye has its place but this is where it can lead when its overdone.

At the get together at my place Lusk talked about using dye to help control FA. My recollection was that it should only be used very early in the season, if fish production is the goal. By using it very early before the water is warm enough to get a good planktonic algae bloom it can shade out the FA which starts to grow in cold water very early on the bottom. That is usually late February early March at my latitude. He said if you use the dye later in the season it will also shade out the planktonic algae bloom which is the bottom of the food chain to jump start everything up the food chain.

As I recall he said treat early then let the dye dissipate naturally and not continue to add dye later in the season. Early season single treatment only. For good fish production. I suppose if a person is more inclined for aesthetics rather than fish production then using it later in the season might have other benefits.

+1 what snrub said. I recall reading some discussion here on the forum in the past that corroborates what John is saying.

Makes perfect sense John and 4C. By the time the FA floats its done for the year and to late to work anyway. If only I could get the pond manager to ...

Glad I seen this.. I was considering dye next spring. I believe I will steer clear.

We have a really bad FA problem but it seems the cures may be worse than the disease. Pond dye kills the food chain. Cutrine and other copper sulfate solutions kill the food chain. My bride and I are not getting any younger and mechanical removal of FA is a real chore for us. Does anybody know the impact on the food chain an alum treatment to tie up the phosphorus has?

If you tie up Phos., there will be a delay in bloom and I'm guessing it will be slow. I've never been in complete understanding of this either, but I would think some plants would suffer some from a lack of Phos as well?

The complete and utter ruin of the best trophy BG water in the metroplex is now complete. They followed up this year with a treatment in early April. I haven't caught a 9" plus BG since April but everything else is pathetically paper thin. Can't say for sure, but the bigger BG may have dyed ... pun intended.

Wonder if grass carp have similar effects. Water viz will certainly diminish,. Also, if FA is problem why not stock tilapia?

I think grass carp would requester nutrients and recycle them. To the extent these nutrients dissolve they should stimulate the planktonic food chain ... I think ...

Dye probably cheaper than TP ... though I am not sure about that.

To be sure, I would rather there be tilapia than dye. But you must keep in mind that the dye has nothing to do with fishermen. It was never a problem for me while I was fishing. But last year it died off and floated the latter part of July and early August. FA smells a little funky as it decays and it looks bad too. The dye is only to maintain appearance. Unfortunately, how things look are the only consideration that matters in this case. Nobody is aware of the special fishery that developed there except for a few of us who knew it was special.